If the delays persist, it will need to be hybridized or electric.
The past few years have been difficult for TVR. September 2021 marks four years since the iconic sports car brand made its comeback. unveiled a new Griffith with V8 power and perfect weight distribution. While much has changed over the years, one thing remains the same: there is no production Griffith that can be bought. Since 2017, the TVR’s debut, we haven’t heard from TVR in any official capacity.
TVR seems to be trudging on, despite the same obstacles as before. Two things are referred to as stumbling blocks: facilities and funding. Although the company received a PS2million ($2.7 million) Coronavirus-related loan, Auto Express states that additional funding was not available to reach TVR’s PS25million ($34.6 million). TVR cannot complete Griffith’s production development, let alone the factory upgrades required to make the cars.
It is therefore curious that Auto Express also states the Griffith can accommodate hybrid and fully-electric powertrains. TVR claims that this word comes from TVR. However, no context is given. Did the Griffith design always have electricity in mind? This is part of the development that was necessary to get the car production ready. To find any mentions of hybrid and electric power, we jumped back to September 2017’s Griffith debut article. We did locate a Griffith production timeline that was slated to start in late 2018. Yeah, that’s awkward.
We reported in January 2021 that TVR still had PS40 million worth Griffith orders on its books. Although we don’t know the status of these orders at the moment, four years have passed since the unveiling of the car. It is safe to assume that the financials are totally different today. According to the Griffith Launch Edition, it cost PS90,000. This is equivalent to $124,700 at present. To give you an idea of the financial uncertainty, that amount was $118,270 four years ago in US currency. We haven’t even discussed the issue of four-year-old technology within a very fast moving automotive market.
TVR’s future is unknown, although some work in South Wales at the factory will reportedly start later in the month. In 2022, will we see the Griffith in public?